6 Books to Help Children with Anxiety

Anxiety has become a lot more recognised in children in recent years and it's really not surprising, with everything they are expected to cope with these days. From school SATs tests, and the new, more demanding curriculum, to social media peer pressure, childhood can have a lot of obstacles to negotiate. Children, like adults, can become anxious or stressed for many reasons and it isn't always the result of an underlying condition. It could be something they are worried about or changes they are finding hard to cope with. Books can provide reassurance, as well as open the doors to talking about worries, even for little ones. These books are all recommended by parents. 

Blogging versus Blagging: The Social Influencer Debate

Sometimes it's a struggle to explain your job, when you make money from writing a blog. I started blogging in 2012 and my blog was, and still is, something I wanted to be proud of and hoped might bring value to others. The fact that people pay for ads and some of the content is a happy bonus, particularly as my health has worsened, I am grateful to be able to earn money doing something I love. The beauty of blogging, Instagramming, YouTubing, etc, is that you can make money out of something you enjoy. There are no barriers, there is an audience out there for everyone and that's a wonderful thing, so why are some people so negative about it

Top Ten Tips for Sensory Issues and Fussy Eating Phases

Originally posted in 2014, this is one of the posts I get asked about most often. Since I wrote it, I've found out a lot more about the sensory issues that can affect children and have come to realise that, regardless of where, if at all, they land on the autism spectrum, or what other issues they may have, they can still feel anxious around food, so it's really important not to make it worse. As I mentioned, this post was originally written some time ago, before I was as aware of sensory issues as I am now. I've updated it a bit, but, whether it turns out to be part of a wider issue, or simply a phase, I hope these tips, from myself and other bloggers, will help.

Making Money from Home using the Internet

Since the invent of the internet, it has become a lot easier to earn money from home. Whether you want to be a millionaire, or just earn a bit while the children are at school or in bed, there are a variety of ways to make money, using tools you already have, with no outlay or risk. As with all money-making ventures, it will depend how much time you have to spend on it, as you generally get out what you put in, but that's the beauty of it, it fits in around what you can manage, alongside other commitments. Whatever your eventual money-saving aims, this post will give you some ideas to get started increasing your cash-flow from your sofa.

Housework Myths and Truths with Vorwerk

I got involved in a conversation over on Facebook yesterday, about how often people actually change their sheets. According to Mumsnet, this task should be done weekly, and it's one of those situations where a lot of us probably feel we are the only ones who fail to do this and the rest of the world has freshly laundered and ironed sheets every Monday. I can assure you that, according to some of the answers I read, many of us don't make this imaginary deadline at all, and it left me wondering how many other household tasks we probably 'should' be tackling more often. One thing I do know, is that I am always perfectly happy with the state of my house until I know we are having guests to visit.

Taking my Child Out of School in Term Time, WWYD?

This is an interesting post for me to write. As an ex-Governor, and a qualified Teaching Assistant, I have spent a lot of my life knocking around the education system, in one way or another. I know exactly how important it is for every child to have a consistent, routined school experience, not just because it helps instil discipline and gives them the best opportunities to socialise and feel part of something, but also because missing blocks of learning leads to problems later on, when it's revisited at a later date. Or, worse still, when it comes up in an exam! For all those reasons, I am the last person who should be planning a term-time holiday and yet, here I am.

Ideas for Helping Those in Need, When Money is Tight

There are so many charities vying for our attention at Christmas, that it can become overwhelming to find who best to help and how to do it. If you have cash to spare, it's a bit easier, because money is always welcomed by any charity, because it gives them the flexibility to buy the things that they need. What about when you are on a low income, though? Even when you don't have much money coming in, you can still be acutely aware that many people have less, and at Christmas especially, it's natural to want to reach out to those in need. Fortunately, there are lots of other ways you can help and here are some ideas.

Christmas Gift Guide: Children

This is always a hard guide to write, because there is such an insane amount of choice and children vary so much in their tastes and interests. Just the amount of adverts vying for our attention this time of year is mind-boggling. It's most likely your own children have dropped more than one heavy hint about what they would like under the Christmas tree, but for the friends and relatives you know less about, I have put together this guide, which focuses on school-age children, the ones with the most opinions! As always, this is a mix of things we've been sent to try that we've really liked and things we use ourselves and think everyone should know about!

Christmas Gift Guide: Men

It's no secret that men are notoriously hard to buy for. It helps if they have a hobby or an interest, but even that can get a bit samey and predictable after a few years. There are only so many golf balls, football shirts, or hilarious mugs based on a TV show that one person needs. Sometimes you can quirky-up the classic gift, such as socks, or gloves, with a bit of imagination, but the real challenge is to find something he doesn't know he wants, so that you can be sure he will not only be happy with your choice, but also won't have already bought one for himself. Check out our ideas for some stress-free man-shopping this Christmas.

A Garden Makeover on a Budget

I've been working on the garden for a few years now. There are a few reasons why it's taken so long; there isn't much money to spend on it, I'm not very good at it, and time and weather are not always our friends. So, this is this season's update, and I have to say, I am really, really happy with it. The aim has always been to make the garden effort-proof and I think that part is almost perfect. Aside from a little mowing and picking up stray leaves, there's not much to do day to day, but it still looks pretty good. I am still very much an amateur and gardening for me will probably always be trial and error, but it's so great when something actually grows! Here's how we did it, what we've added recently, what worked and what didn't. 

Christmas Gift Guide: Teenagers

Our first gift guide for this year, features that very tricky and somewhat elusive species The Teenager. Not always the chattiest group of people, it can be hard to settle on the perfect gift. I've called this Gift Guide 'Teenagers', but really it could probably apply to 'tweens' or possibly younger, since children have a habit of growing up at their own pace and will grow into, and out of, things, when they are ready. With this in mind, I've tried to find items that suit a wider age group, so that you can be sure of a positive reaction on Christmas morning. Some of the items are available to win in our Big Christmas Giveaway, so don't forget to enter if you haven't already.

Children's Costumes and Racism; Has the World Gone Mad?

Disney may have its critics and it's faults, but it has never been afraid to embrace diversity and culture in its vast catalogue of popular children's films. However, a debate blew up recently on Good Morning Britain, about whether children dressing up as the Disney character Moana could be a case of 'cultural appropriation' and something that shouldn't be encouraged.  This isn't the first time this issue has made its way into the media. A post reappeared recently on Reddit, where a mother received a lot of negativity for dressing her daughter up in a Geisha costume for a Japanese tea party. So when does innocent fun become racism?

Zu3D Animation Kit Review

You may have noticed by now, that we live in Bristol. The land of snazzy bridges, waterways, graffiti and Morph. The latter may explain why L has always been completely obsessed with animation. Particularly stop-motion. I even started putting them on YouTube. This 54 second Minecraft animation has been viewed over 2,000 times and it shows how you really don't have to be an animation pro to have a lot of fun with this hobby. He was just nine then and I think we are living in an amazing age of technology, when children of any age can make their own films. We were sent the Zu3D Animation Kit free for L to try and these are our thoughts.

Insomnia: How to Get Back to Sleep

There are different types of insomnia. Some people can't get to sleep at all, and lie awake for hours counting the minutes until the alarm goes off, where as some people sleep for a little while, then wake up and can't get back to sleep. I usually fall into the second category and I have found that there isn't a huge amount of advice available for getting back to sleep, once you've woken up. I've written before about the thoughts that keep me awake at night, and I even wrote a poem about insomnia, with help from my son, but I thought it was time I shared some of the ideas that have worked for me.

Making the Most of Your Garden in Autumn

We've had one of our better summers in the UK this year, well, certainly here in Bristol, anyway. There have been many hot, sunny days to enjoy the garden and I think we've all got a bit too used to it. It's sunny today, actually, but the air is already noticeably cooler as Autumn takes hold, and it's easy to forget that soon it will be dark earlier and the weather will become even more unpredictable, by adding wind and rain into the mix. I don't want to let go of my garden just yet, though, so I've been looking at ideas for getting the most from the garden as the evenings draw in and the temperatures change.

This Tear, Here; A Poem for Lynn on World Poetry Day

According to Twitter, it's World Poetry Day today. I thought that was in March, so it might be National Poetry Day, but nothing like a bad cold to make you forget what day it is, never mind anything else! Anyway, I really thought I would have to skip it this year, but, if I'm quick, I can still just about make it. I had absolutely nothing planned, and I wasn't sure I had any ideas at all, so I just sat down and wrote. Something appeared, but I warn you, this is not my usual tidy rows of rhyming couplets, it's more, what is affectionately known as, a 'mind dump'. It's still a style, though, of sorts, and it was important to me that it was raw and largely unedited, so I hope that's ok. 

Free Printable Student Recipes: Easy Special Fried Rice

This is the last in our series of easy student recipes and it's a favourite in our house. It's been a bit difficult to make into a recipe, actually, because I'm so used to just throwing things in, I had to really think about the measurements! It's another recipe which is great for using up leftovers and the ingredients are very flexible. Try adding pineapple, or peas, or you could replace the bacon with ham, or make a vegetarian version by leaving the bacon out and replacing the chicken with quorn. It's a great opportunity to experiment and make this dish your own. I hope you've enjoyed our fun recipes, click the link to try our Easy Stuffed Peppers. 

Kobold VK200 Accessories Review: Why You Need Them All!

I've been testing the Kobold VK200 for a while now, and this is because it's a lot more than just a vacuum cleaner... and also because I really don't want to have to give it back *sob*. When it arrived for testing, it came with such an astonishing array of different, and very clever, attachments, I knew this was going to take some time. So, along with our initial review of the Kobold VK200 vacuum cleaner, with automatic electric brush head, this second review looks at all the attachments that are available to for it and all the different jobs they are waiting to take off your hands. 

Free Printable Student Recipes: Easy Stuffed Peppers

Moving day is fast approaching for students all over the country, and I'm still digging through the archives to find the best easy, low cost recipes to help them on their way. Today's recipe is number five in the series and is vegetarian. I didn't think it would be possible to improve on the simplicity of the last recipe, but, believe it or not, this one contains just two ingredients. That's right, two, but it's such a big cheat, it looks like it took lots of effort and is also pretty nutritious. If you are not vegetarian, you can serve these as part of a ham or chicken salad, but they make a pretty yummy lunch as well.

Free Printable Student Recipes: Easy Cheesy Pork Steaks

Day four of our student recipes, and they are getting even easier! If you haven't been keeping up, I have been making some of our easiest recipes into easy to follow recipe cards, that students can take with them as they embark on their new chapters. Hopefully it will lead to a less noodle-filled existence! This recipe only has three ingredients, and requires very little preparation. It takes half an hour to cook and is really delicious. It is a clever twist on what would otherwise be quite a boring meal and can make you look like you really know what you are doing with this cooking lark, even when you don't! Recipe 3 is here.